Joe Hockey’s faction fiction

The shadow treasurer wants to clear up a misconception:
Joe Hockey
is not the leader of the Liberal Party’s moderates group.

“The straitjacket of a stereotype should not be applied to me," Hockey says.

“Once upon a time I got involved with it [factions], but my opponent is the Labor Party."

The big, often jovial, man of Liberal politics arrives about 10 minutes late to his North Sydney office to speak about banking, gay marriage, the economy, climate change and, more limitedly, his ostensibly strained relationship with
Malcolm Turnbull
, the Coalition’s communications spokesman.

He’s been at his five-year-old son’s Christmas carols.

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Hanging on the wall of Hockey’s office are Larry Pickering cartoons of former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser and past Labor prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke, who is holding a beer mug.

“We’re good mates," Hockey says of Hawke, who also lives on Sydney’s North Shore and scribbled a well-wishing message on the cartoon.

Gough has signed his picture, too. Fraser – the exceptionally moderate former Liberal – has not.

As if to emphasise his non-moderate credentials, Hockey says he does not support gay marriage.

“But I accept there will be instances where gay couples want to adopt a child at the exceptional circumstance of a sibling dying and the child being parentless," says Hockey, who has three children under five.

Also hanging in the office is a picture of the North Sydney Bears, the now defunct rugby league team that in effect died 10 years ago after merging with Manly.

Hockey is determined not to suffer the same political fate. He brushes off talk about some Liberal colleagues having doubts about him standing as the country’s alternative treasurer.

“All of my career people have underestimated me and, frankly, I don’t give a damn," he says.

“I’m not going to spend my life driving a car looking in the rear-view mirror.

“I’ve had a lot more ministerial experience than a lot of my critics combined."

Hockey is less forthcoming about his testy relationship with Turnbull. Insiders say the once-close friends have fallen out since they both ran against
Tony Abbott
in the leadership spill last year.

“Malcolm’s a friend," Hockey insists. “He’s got a job to do on the national broadband network and that’s what he’s doing."

Pressed on whether their relationship is as strong as it once was, Hockey does not want to comment further.

On ideology, Hockey nominates enterprise, innovation, freedom, family, opportunity, individual liberty and courage as the values that form the basis of his belief in “modern liberalism".

He will resume his series of “in defence of" speeches next year, after already defending enterprise, liberty and God.

Is it tough knowing you’re likely to be in opposition for another three years after coming so close to government?

Hockey, a self-described optimist, says negativity “is a cancer".

“It comes down to your personality, and when I have dark periods I need to be active," he says. “In 2008 I went on an important European and Middle East tour. In 2009 I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, in 2010 I had an election . . . 2011 we will wait and see."